A nine-year-old girl waiting to see the Easter bunny at a shopping mall was struck by gunfire as a shoe seller allegedly fired at fleeing shoplifters.
Youngster Ava Chruniak was in line to get her photo taken at the Mall of Victor valley in California, when the violence unfolded, according to police.
Investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, claim that the incident happened when the co-owner of the Sole Addicts stored chased two shoplifters out of the store and opened fire.
Officials say that the shots missed the shoplifters and hit the girl, who was taken to the Loma Linda University Medical Center in stable condition.
She was hit twice and suffered a broken arm, her mother Natalie Moraga wrote in a GoFundMe to raise money for medical expenses.
“Hi everyone my name is Natalie , my daughter Ava was shot on Tuesday April 12, 2022 by an active shooter in Victorville mall she is just 9 years old, no little girl deserves this!” her mother wrote on the fundraising page.
“No child deserves this she was at the mall going for Easter pictures with the bunny she such a sweet loving girl and loves reading her books, she is suffering from 2 gunshot wounds , and her arm is broken!!!!!!!”
Police say that shoe seller Marqel Cockrell, 20, of Adelanto, fled the scene after the shooting and was later arrested by Nevada Highway Patrol.
He is being held on suspicion of attempted murder at the Clark County Jail in Nevada on an extraditable warrant, says the newspaper.
His bail has been set at $1m.
